Bunker Hill Community College Receives Award for Promoting Higher Education for Low-Income Youth in Chelsea

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Apr 23, 2010, 10:18 ET

BOSTON, April 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bunker Hill Community College was honored at a special dinner for its leadership role in promoting educational opportunities for at-risk youth. The non-profit organization "Bostonians for Youth" presented the College with the award on April 15, 2010. The award honored BHCC for its role in the "Chelsea Compact," a recently-announced collaboration to promote higher education for low-income youth in Chelsea. BHCC, FUEL (Families United in Educational Leadership), and the University of Massachusetts Amherst are working together on this initiative, launched on March 23, 2010. The collaborative agreement targets high school seniors in Chelsea who participate in the FUEL College Savings Program.

According to the terms of the compact, BHCC will provide up to five scholarships per year that will cover the cost of in-state tuition and fees up to 12 credit hours per semester. These awards, named the President's Chelsea Scholarship, will also provide faculty mentorship to students during the scholarship award period. The College will also collaborate with UMass Amherst to highlight the financial transfer benefits for students interested in pursuing a four-year degree upon graduation from Bunker Hill Community College.

Accepting the "Bostonians for Youth" award on behalf of the College, was BHCC Board Chair Jeanne-Marie Boylan. In her remarks, Boylan stressed the College's commitment to "access and affordability" in higher education, and its long-standing history of involvement with the Chelsea community.

Bunker Hill Community College is the largest community college in Massachusetts. The College enrolls more than 11,700 students on two campuses and at five satellite locations. BHCC is one of the most diverse institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Six in ten students are people of color and more than half of BHCC's students are women. The College also enrolls more than 700 international students who come from more than 95 countries and speak 75 different languages.

SOURCE Bunker Hill Community College